Continuing Studies
by shanejayell
Summary: Kaori and Emi, A sequel to the City Hunter Motion Picture


City Hunter: Continuing Studies.  
  
Emi Makaze paced across her small dorm room restlessly, her stretch pants clinging to her long legs. She had just finished a practice, and should have been resting up, but the dancer was filled with nervous energy. She sat down at the side of the bed, and closed her eyes only to see that face again, the concerned gaze of Kaori Makimura.  
  
"Why can't I get her out of my mind?" Emi whimpered.  
  
Laying down on her back with a little sigh of defeat Emi deliberately let herself call up that very first meeting in her mind's eye, remembering standing there and watching with a certain amount of amusement as Kaori looked adoringly up at one of Emi's own photos. It was the one of Emi in a white suit, a image that she knew made feminine hearts beat faster.  
  
Kaori was a boyish looking woman herself with brown hair falling into her eyes, and she had seen through Emi's feeble attempt at a disguise almost instantly. Not that a baseball cap and a pair of sunglasses was all that good of a disguise anyway.  
  
Emi frowned slightly as she remembered Ryo Saeba's boorish behavior towards her, then she had to smile thinking of how effectively Kaori had dealt with it. Then with a simple dignity Kaori had promised her their help.  
  
Again and again over the next few days Ryo had tried to take liberties with her, and each time Kaori had put him his place, quite forcefully when she felt it was necessary. Emi just couldn't seem to understand how someone like Kaori could tolerate him as a partner, but she had to say that he was good at what he did.  
  
"Maybe she loves him," Emi murmured, then shuddered at the very thought.  
  
Almost as soon as Emi saw her, she knew that she wanted to be Kaori's friend. A faint blush appeared on her cheeks as she admitted to herself that maybe she was interested in being more than a friend to the other woman.  
  
"I still can't believe I did that," Emi said to herself.  
  
Emi had been using the shower to rinse before taking her evening bath, with Kaori loyally sitting outside the shower stall to watch over her when she had been struck by the dangerous impulse. Sounding as casual as she could manage to, Emi called out to her, "This bath isn't too large, but do you want to join me?"  
  
'She didn't run away screaming,' Emi thought to herself sadly, 'but she certainly left in a hurry.' A smile appeared, 'But she sure turned up fast once Ryo snuck inside!' It had been a very satisfying experience to see Kaori hammer Ryo right out the upper story window and down into the hopefully mucky river!  
  
Again and again Kaori would rush to Emi's side and protect her, especially once they were on the train together. The train...  
  
Another blush colored Emi's cheeks as she though about how Kaori had looked them. Black suit jacket and pants, a dark T-shirt, she had looked striking. 'Handsome,' Emi had to admit to herself, 'she really was handsome.'  
  
Emi thought of the panic and terror she had felt when they learned about the bomb that was hidden beneath the train and how Kaori had so easily calmed her down. Those strong hands holding her by the shoulders had felt so good, Kaori's dark eyes meeting hers, and the utter sincerity in her voice when she said that Ryo would save them.  
  
After Kaori had traded places with her in the bomb wired driver's seat, both she and Ryo had wanted Emi to get off the train, to get to safety. But she just couldn't do it, couldn't leave Kaori there, alone, facing danger that was meant for her.  
  
"I told Ryo that I wanted to see it through to the end," Emi sighed, "but I really just wanted to stay there with Kaori."  
  
Ryo had defeated her brother Takaeki Muto, the Professor, and even figure out how to disarm the bomb. 'By looking at my panties,' Emi thought with a fierce scowl, feeling glad that Kaori had punished him for that, too.  
  
She and Kaori had shared a blanket at the Shinjuku victory party, but Emi's duties as a celeberty had pulled her away from her place at Kaori's side. She lost her in the crowded block party, and she hadn't seen Kaori since.  
  
Emi sat up, looking over at the bedside phone. She reached for it, hesitated, then lowered her hand, thumping it down on to the bedspread. 'I probably scared her away,' she thought, 'I bet that Kaori doesn't even want to see me.'  
  
It had all happened in the middle of a crisis, and even Emi knew that strong bonds could form there, bonds that didn't always last once the crisis had ended. 'Yes, she took care of me, but that was her job as my bodyguard. It doesn't have to mean anything more,' she thought sadly. She sighed softly, 'But it does to me.'  
  
The phone rang, the shrill beep piercing the silence.  
  
Emi leapt for the phone, bringing it to her ear as she said, "Yes?"  
  
"Emi?" the warm voice that she so wanted to hear say, "This is Kaori Makimura."  
  
"Kaori," Emi smiled, relaxing for the first time that day, "I was just thinking about you..."  
  
Author's Note: This mini-fic is a continuation of City Hunter: the motion picture. When I saw the movie I was mildly surprised at the interactions between Emi and Kaori, and wondered if there might be a romance there. I've done a bit of reading since then, including a bit about the adoration some female drag stars can acquire in Japan, but I still think that Emi and Kaori might make a good couple. Let me know what you think! 


End file.
